TOKYO, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The prefectural government and several civic groups in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa have expressed strong anger over the indictment of a U.S. airman for the alleged kidnap and sexual assault of a girl under 16.
At the prefectural government office on Thursday, Takekuni Ikeda, vice governor of Okinawa, told Brig. Gen. Nicholas Evans, commander of the U.S. 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base in the prefecture, that the incident was serious and malicious as it trampled on the victim's human rights, and that it cannot be forgiven.
Evans said, "I'm deeply concerned by the severity of this allegation, and I regret any anxiety this has caused," indicating that the U.S. side will cooperate with the investigation and trial. But he did not offer an apology.
The vice governor said that he could not help but say that education and management at U.S. bases in Okinawa are inadequate and criticized the U.S. side for failing to provide sufficient information about the case.
Ikeda protested the fact the prefecture was not notified about the indictment that was made in March until it was contacted by the Foreign Ministry's Okinawa office on Tuesday.
Ikeda also demanded speedy and effective steps to prevent a similar case, an apology to the victim, and early compensation for her, saying this is a worrying incident for people who are forced to live next to U.S. bases in the prefecture.
Meanwhile, at a news conference at the prefectural government office on Thursday, representatives from six civic groups in Okinawa called for the removal of all existing U.S. bases and a ban on building new ones.
Keiko Itokazu, who co-heads a group of women protesting bases and troops in Okinawa, said she feels heart-wrenching pain when she thinks about the terror and despair inflicted on the victim.
She criticized the Japanese and U.S. governments, and the U.S. forces in Okinawa, for promising to ease the burden of the bases while doing nothing about the actual situation, where the lives and livelihoods of the people in the prefecture are threatened by such serious and vicious crimes.
The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office filed charges against the U.S. Air Force member Brennon Washington, 25, on March 27, for allegedly kidnapping a girl under the age of 16 in December and committing nonconsensual sexual intercourse, local media reported.
Okinawa hosts 70 percent of all the U.S. military bases in Japan while accounting for only 0.6 percent of the country's total land area. Crimes committed by U.S. service members and nonmilitary personnel have been a constant source of grievance for locals. ■
